This invention relates generally to portable storage tanks of several hundred barrels capacity.
There is a recurring need for high capacity, portable tankage in the oil and gas drilling, refining and petrochemical industries. Because the tanks are often present on site for only a few weeks, they can present unfamiliar hazards for personnel who work on or around them. The greatest hazard is posed for workers who climb onto the tanks, as a misstep or trip can lead to a fall from several feet onto a hard surface.
This presents a need in several industries for portable tankage which is constructed so as to minimize the risk of injury to personnel from trips or falls.
In one embodiment of the invention, there is provided a generally box-shaped elongated storage tank for containing liquids. The tank has a first end and a second end. A landing extends from the first end and a pair of opposed laterally extending stairways extend downwardly from the landing. The stairways enable personnel to access to the landing from ground level or from an adjacent storage tank without coming to the ground.
In a preferred embodiment, a conduit is in communication with the storage tank through the first end of the storage tank at a location beneath the landing. By avoiding the use of ladders and by positioning the piping assembly for the tank beneath the landing, where workers need not clamber over it in order to access the roof of the tank, worker hazards are greatly reduced.
In another embodiment of the invention, a battery of portable tanks is formed by at least a pair of portable, generally box-shaped elongated storage tanks for containing liquids which are positioned in close side by side relationship. Each storage tank has a first end and a second end, a landing extending from the first end, and a pair of opposed laterally extending stairways extending downwardly from the landing. A bottom end of a laterally extending stairway from a first tank of the pair is positioned alongside a bottom end of a laterally extending stairway from a second tank of the pair to enable personnel to safely move from the fist tank to the second tank without coming to the ground.